


Too Late

by NeoQwerty



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: As Close To Incest As Robots Can Get, Dead On Arrival Relationship, M/M, Ominous Foreshadowing, One-Sided Attraction (on both sides), Partner Betrayal, Power Imbalance, Pre-Rockman X7 | Mega Man X7, Reploid Headcanons in End Notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:47:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26900881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeoQwerty/pseuds/NeoQwerty
Summary: Red missed the signals, and sadly, that might be for the best.Axl's already messed up, Red should be glad that he didn't completely ruin him by encouraging this attachment more than he already did.
Relationships: Axl & Red (Rockman), Axl/Red (Rockman)
Kudos: 2





	Too Late

Most humanoid Reploids aren't wired to find gigant models physically attractive, not even other gigant models. It's something of a design oversight that they prefer (other) human-sized Reploids for romantic relationships, relegating the gigants into a purely platonic role.

Thankfully, given the low amount of non-platonic relationships and the even lower amount of sexual romantic relationships, most humantype Reploids still have proper social networks, no matter their size, and most don't notice the subtle bias against size, unlike the rigid divide between humantypes and animaloids and their mutual seemingly-hardcoded aversion.

So that's possibly why Red is so surprised that, from the moment they boot-up the damaged prototype, the kid seems to think Red is the center of the world. At first, it's distinctly unnerving, because the kid's head is obviously messed up, and he only seems to have two settings: emotionless obedience and gleeful destruction. He starts to show nuances after the first three months, including a vicious, sadistic streak when he goes on his first "solo" mission, Red hanging back to assess him for field viability. It's almost as adorable as it is unnerving when Red compliments him on his efficient misleading and his mercilessness afterwards, and Axl's face shifts into the first beaming grin he's ever seen on the kid's face. Hell, the first _positive emotion_ that Axl's ever sported.

They grow a little closer, and Red doesn't think much of the amount of contact they have with each other as Axl continues his burn-in period. He brushes it off as Axl simply following Red's lead. Red is a tactile Reploid, albeit more in the violent sense than not, always willing to grab one of the others in the Syndicate by the neck and shake them once or thrice, or to throw objects around whenever he's frustrated. But the touches between him and Axl are little affectionate things; he often ends up with his hand on Axl. A ruffle through static-charged wild hair, a pat on a shoulder piece, fingers curled casually over Axl's side to steer him closer to Red's defense-heavy bulk.

He doesn't really think about it until, six months down the line from Axl's activation, he's staring down the red lens of one of the kid's bullets, staring at suspiciously shiny green eyes, looking at what he thinks heartbreak and betrayal might look like, put there by his sharply-given ultimatum: Axl can either shut up and keep harvesting DNA-cores, or leave Red Alert and go solo.

"...I hate you, I hate you so much. I thought you cared. I thought you were _good_."

The Bullet in his hand shakes, before Axl takes a long, slow breath, and twists his face into a perfect look of rebellion and bravado. Red would be hard-pressed to find the flaw in that appearance, especially as Axl casually spins the Bullet on his finger, stepping back toward the doorway, before he begins talking again.

"So... If we ever cross paths again, you know I'm gonna try to stop you, right? So for both our sakes..."

Red inclines his head, ever so slightly, and responds.

"Go. We may be a Syndicate, but we're not barbarians, right? You'll leave unhindered."

Axl's reply is one last, wordless nod, before he runs off toward his new life. Red feels a heavy pang of dread and regret as he watches him leave on his security terminal, making his way out of Crimson Palace. He's almost tempted to reach out on his radio frequency, when an incoming call from the Professor makes him tense. Right, he still has the scientist to deal with, who no doubts has by now noticed Axl is leaving, and not on a mission.

He feels a headache coming, and the persistent glitch that accompanies it these days flares up, a small cluster of pixels at the bottom left corner of his HUD tinting the interface purple rather than its traditional Hunter-blue.

**Author's Note:**

> Headcanon explanations:
> 
> "Gigants" is the name for Reploids that are 7 feet and above, but humanlike; Red, Signas, Colonel, Sigma, Redips and General are all considered "gigant" Reploids. It's a category like "Animaloid". The main bias against them is, as explained, that Reploids mostly are drawn to average-size humanlike Reploids or humans, even other gigant model Reploids. Most relationships with a gigant Reploid tends to involve a human partner.
> 
> Axl doesn't have any partner bias; he's so pan that it dips toward exophilia. Reploids or humans, gigant or animaloid models, so long as the personality fits his criteria he can go for it. (Of course, his perfect partner would be X, Zero, or both at once, because he's coded to be low-key obsessed with them. It's not a coincidence that he got an instant crush on a blond-haired, red-and-white melee Reploid.)


End file.
